The chipless (and cashless) gaming technology of the present invention is so named because there is no necessity (and generally no capability) for using direct addition of chips or coins or currency by the player as wagering elements in the play of games on the table. Rather, credit is established for each player at each player position to enable wagering by player-exercised data entry (user input) at various stages of the game. The user input may also enable input of player selections in addition to wager amounts and wager types (e.g., on an underlying game, side bets, jackpots, raises, withdrawals and the like).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,779,546 to Meissner et al. describes a system for monitoring a card game. The system includes a dealer information screen for indicating player requests. A display 201d-207d consisting of a row of three light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is connected to the back of each player's touch screen so as to be visible by the dealer. These LEDs provide instructions to the dealer to advise him of the player's intentions (hold, deal, split, insurance, etc.). The display may be, for example, an LED display and may be positioned on the dealer's side of each player's touch screen (or elsewhere in a location visible to the dealer). The display is utilized as a quick reference source of instructions for the dealer for certain player choices such as: active, inactive, hit, stand, split, etc.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,201,655 to Walker et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 6,319,122 to Packes, Jr., et al. describe systems that evaluate the rate of play of players on a video gaming system and increases awards or payouts or comps to the player based on the rate of play on a video gaming system.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,316,615 to Soltys et al. describes a system for recording the historical events in casino table card games, providing information on numbers of hands played in a period of time by the dealer, and evaluating win/loss percentages for players and dealers.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,676,517 to Beavers discloses a casino table supervision and analysis system in which potential errors or fraud of the dealers is identified by tracking and analyzing electronically input data.
In the play of some video games, such as Odyssey game Phantom Belle Poker (commercially available in 2002), stacks of gaming chips are shown on the screen, and a player inputs wagers through a button panel. When all of the chips “available” on the screen exceed the value of the requested wager, a larger value virtual chip is automatically moved into a displayed virtual “pot” and smaller denomination virtual chips are returned to the player's screen pot as change from the larger chip. Only a single initial wager (ante wager) per game was available.
More interactive player control and apparent player manipulation of chip stacks has been found by applicants to be desirable in the play of card games at chipless tables to simulate player feel of a standard physical casino table environment.